Working Together Conference 2025

Thank you to all who attended our 2025 Conference


We had a jam packed conference this year, so much so, that unfortunately we could not fit in all of the planned sessions - we are looking into putting extra sessions in the near future in order to pick up the items we missed. 


We were delighted to have our chair, Jean, back to open the conference and give an overview of our involvement, progress, and challenges going forward. 


This was followed by an inspiring story by Oliver Thomason and his brother Craig who took us through all he has achieved on his SEND journey after leaving education. 


Louise Atkin then set the SEND scene looking at the national picture and work that is being undertaken locally, recognising the difficulties being faced locally and nationally for those with SEND.


Natalie and Sharon then presented the initial feedback of our SEND survey.  CLICK HERE to see this presentation and the subsequent full survey report.


Max and Laura then went through the LOCAL OFFER - what is available on there and plans for updates.


Unfortunately the planned session on SEN Support / Graduated response had to be dropped from the agenda due to overrun - These are now being run as A DAYTIME SESSION ON 9TH MAY and AN EVENING ZOOM SESSION ON 13TH MAY


Over lunch we shared slides of those nominated for a special mention - our SEND superstars for supporting our families.


After Lunch Nina Jackson, our keynote speaker, gave us a truly inspirational address about "Finding the Fizz" showing how rather than focussing on "Special Educational Needs and Disabilities" we should instead be looking at "Living and Learning Differences" and how best to support our youngsters in a much more positive way, sharing lots of insights and resources with us, including a PADLET with useful links and information.


Steve Tatham ran through the SEND priorities and SEND services from a health perspective.


Emily and Isabel, Educational Psychologists, ran through details of their service and looked at Emotionally Based School avoidance.  This is a complex service to understand and we will be looking at arranging future sessions to break this down a bit more for our families.


More inspiration was then on the cards as Darren "Foz" Foster opened up about the SEND journey from as Dad's perspective, including the ALRIGHT LAD group—a laid-back, no-judgment zone for dads & lads who care for a child or young person with disabilities. 


It was our honour to close the conference at the end of the day by presenting our chair, Jean Fitzpatrick, with a lifetime achievement award.  Across the room people stood up to declare the difference that Jean has made in their service and in their lives.


Thank you to all who involved who made this such a vibrant and interactive conference.  We will be updating this page to include feedback received on the day.


Conference Slides


The full slide deck is available to download below


Download the presentations

Gallery

By Gail Hall October 7, 2025
ISupport and Beyond Consultation for Families
By Gail Hall September 14, 2025
Neurodevelopment Assessment Pathway Service – Warrington
By Gail Hall September 3, 2025
Updated Feedback following our SEND home to school/college survey Thank you to all who have completed our survey - to those who would still like to take part, you can complete it HERE Please find below a high level summary of the feedback from parent/carers from the recent Transport survey we conducted and shared via mail chimp and social media. The survey was live for less than a week at this point and we had some strong feedback. We presented these findings at our coproduction steering group meeting on Tuesday 9th September and have started the ball rolling to address these issues going forward. We will keep our membership updated with progress in this area, including any future opportunities to be part of the work as we address these with our partners. All comments and feedback will be used as part of those discussions. There were 3 key terms noted used by parents to describe their feelings around the home to school transport experience. A Fight Frustrating A cause of anxiety Response Results No issues 32% Small Issues 23% Major Issues 43% My child doesn't access transport 2% It must be noted that although the majority of comments left were from those whose experience was less that positive, there was a few who commented it all ran smoothly as transport remained the same as previous years. 5 Key themes from the transport survey in order of most complaints where parents highlight change is essential Communication: Delay in finding out transport provider/times for collection Parents continually chasing SEND transport team leading to parents feeling frustrated and stressed Parents unable to prepare their child adding to additional anxiety at starting back to school Transport Team communication Parent report it is extremely difficult to contact the team and get a response to emails or calls Parents report they experienced uniformed, disinterested transport team when they do answer the call Transport Requests declined Parent are clearly frustrated at transport requests being declined even at appeal level. They are clear gaps in understanding around eligibility/criteria that need to be addressed to support parent understanding of decisions Delay in response to transport requests Parents/carers are reporting requests are not being completed on time resulting in thier child not having transport to commence the start of the school year Transport experience Parents report poor behaviour during home to school transport is not being reported by drivers Parents report increased anxiety when transport is running up to 30 mins late due to earlier pick ups not running on time and their child arriving to school late.
By Gail Hall May 14, 2025
Learn more about the graduated response for special education in Warrington for children and young people that need extra help in schools
An artist 's impression of a large building with a bus parked in front of it.
By Gail Hall April 30, 2025
Making significant changes to maintained special school provision
By Gail Hall April 5, 2025
We have collated, analysed and reported on the annual SEND survey. Check out the results here
People sat in a circle
March 5, 2025
Our Check in & Chat sessions are your opportunity to chat with the team and other parent carers and share your experiences.
By Gail Hall March 4, 2025
Evening Zoom Session May 13th 2025 - Graduated Response with Jo Nulty
People sat in a circle
March 3, 2025
Our Check in & Chat sessions are your opportunity to chat with the team and other parent carers and share your experiences.
Logo Image
March 3, 2025
Warrington Parents and Carers are proud to be joining once again with our Local Authority and NHS partners to present our "Working Together Conference"